Aerial Photos, Inequality, and Covering Our Eyes
Photo by Matt Collamer. Boston, MA
National Geographic released an article on their website with some aerial pictures portraying the stark lines of differences between neighboring communities in some cities. Click the photo to the article, for reference:
Click here to go to National Geographic'‘s article by Sydney Combs with photos by Johnny Miller
I shared the article because I think it’s pretty cool, the uses we have of satellite and drone imagery now, and how we can see things in a way we couldn’t before. I also found the subject of the article to be interesting. These occurrences of inequality aren’t just in these few places—you can see them in many, if not most, metropolitan areas, and there are stories to tell there.
The thing is, most people know this inequality exists. We aren’t looking at anything new here. What I find interesting, however, are the extents people go to in order to purposefully ignore the situation.
Photo: APx90, Toronto Canada
What brings this up? Well, I’ve shared the story above and some other stories highlighting some aspects of social inequality, and I’ve gotten more than one response that sound kind of like this:
“You know, usually your social media page is a happy place to be, but every now and then you share stuff like this. Who wants to look at this first thing in the morning?”
Reader, I invite you to think about that question. Who wants to look at that first thing in the morning? Well…a large percentage of the world DOES look at that first thing in the morning, up close and personal. A large percentage of the world doesn’t get to turn the page, change the channel, or click on the next link. It’s in their face every day, all day. And you know what?
Those are the people who make up the world. They are people with families, with homes, with jobs, with kids in school, who pay taxes at an uneven rate so that YOUR street can be paved and YOUR kids can go to nice schools, and you can have trees along your streets. They get to look at these same pictures and see YOUR neighborhood—and get to see you covering your eyes and pretending they don’t exist. And they do see you. It’s hard to miss—look at the pretty lawns and houses, swimming pools you barely use, and space.
Photo: FreetoUseSounds, Denver, CO
And look closer, sometime. Maybe—GASP—try walking through these inner-city streets sometime. It’s kind of interesting. I actually do it all the time, and frankly, enjoy it. I hear laughter. Kids playing. People talking. People throwing change they don’t seem to be able to spare into the cup of a person without a home as they walk by. People sitting together on their steps complaining about the state of things. Cars honking, the occasional siren. And sure, there’s the guy peeing on the side of a building (perhaps because there’s no where ELSE to pee), and maybe it doesn’t smell as nice as your part of town, and it’s hotter because of all the pavement, and it’s loud because every sound echoes off brick and pavement and cement.
But you know what? These people are alive, and have community, and live together and help each other out and argue and rush and struggle and have pride and dignity and work hard and feel down sometimes because it’s so hard to get ahead when everything seems against you. When the rest of the world feels they have to look askance, avert their eyes, and avoid feeling uncomfortable. And they persist.
Photo: Ms Sue Huan
If you can’t look at a community of people without feeling uncomfortable, that says something, and it’s not about them. I invite you to think about why you feel that way. Just acknowledge it. You don’t even have to do anything else differently. Just don’t pretend the rest of the world is pristine sidewalks, silence, and gingko trees.
And don’t write to me asking me to hide the 99% to protect your delicate sensibilities. They are the 99%. They won’t be hidden.
You should say hi sometime. They have some really interesting things to say, and I think we all can learn a thing or two from paying attention to the people who aren’t in “power.”
NOTE: All photos used in this articles are free to use under common license. I have attributed credit where possible.